Topic: Richard Conlin

Seattle City Councilmember-elect Kshama Sawant piled up big vote advantages in several central city neighborhoods to seal her national-headline-making win over 16-year incumbent Richard Conlin. Sawant drew 60 percent or higher support from the Central District, Capitol Hill, the International District and Wallingford, according to an analysis of precinct vote returns by The Seattle…

Longtime Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin has conceded his seat to challenger Kshama Sawant. “It has been a privilege to be your representative and I am proud of what we have done together,” Conlin said this afternoon. Sawant increased her lead today over Conlin and is ahead by 1,640 votes in updated vote totals. She…

Seattle City Council challenger Kshama Sawant increased her lead over four-term incumbent Richard Conlin in updated vote totals Thursday afternoon. Sawant led Conlin by 1,148 votes, up from 402 yesterday. The 41-year-old, who would be the first socialist on the nonpartisan council in recent memory, was at 50.2 percent compared to Conlin’s 49.5 percent. That puts…

Kshama Sawant extended her narrow lead over Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin in updated vote totals released Wednesday afternoon. Sawant led Conlin by 402 votes — 83,095 to 82,693. That translates to a 49.99 percent to 49.75 percent lead. Sawant, who would be the first socialist on the nonpartisan council in recent history, first took a lead…

Socialist challenger Kshama Sawant pulled narrowly ahead of longtime Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin in updated vote totals released Tuesday afternoon. Sawant, the first socialist to make a general election for Seattle City Council in 22 years, led Conlin by 41 votes — 79,751 to 79,710 — in the latest update. That translates to a 49.91…

Socialist Kshama Sawant’s momentum has all but scared the fleece off the trademark vest of Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin. With Conlin clinging to a steadily shrinking lead over Sawant, the four-term incumbent emailed supporters Saturday, telling them to “make sure every vote is counted.” The usually unflappable Conlin asked supporters to make sure their ballots had been…

Update | 9 p.m: Although many have written off Kshama Sawant’s chances of an upset win, a Seattle Times analysis shows it is still possible. Sawant, the first socialist to make it to a general election for the Seattle City Council in 22 years, now trails four-term incumbent Richard Conlin 51.53 to 48.26 percent. That translates…

Exhausted from a tough election fight, Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin said today that he won’t seek office again. Although he just won re-election against Kshama Sawant, a socialist and economics professor at Seattle Central Community College, the passage Tuesday of a city charter amendment to elect council members by district means Conlin would have to…

Update | 12:45 p.m., Nov. 6: Ksahama Sawant’s Twitter account has deleted the tweet referenced below, but you can view it through a screen shot. Click on the shot for a bigger image. Update | 11:35 p.m. Albert Shen said he feels “great about the campaign” despite finishing far behind Mike O’Brien in Tuesday’s election. In an email,…

Several members of the 37th District Democrats lodged complaints against the group’s political vice chair for campaigning in support of a non-Democrat — socialist Seattle City Council candidate Kshama Sawant.

The complaints against Jeanne Legault came after she started distributing Sawant advertisements while doorbelling. The complaints were dismissed because City Council races are nonpartisan.

“Jeanne Legault has been a committed Democrat for decades, and she’s worked for the Democratic Party for those same decades, so there’s no there there,” said Michael Wolfe, the chairman of the 37th District Democrats, who is running for a seat on the Port of Seattle Commission.

The 37th district is centered in Southeast Seattle. The party group there has endorsed Sawant’s opponent, fourth-term incumbent Richard Conlin, who lives in the district and has been considered a reliable liberal voice.

Legault said she chose to support Sawant because “what she’s espousing is far more Democratic than her opponent.” Legault said she thinks some fellow Democrats are upset with her because of the “Ralph Nader thing” — a lingering distrust for third-party candidates after Nader took votes from presidential hopeful Al Gore in 2000, perhaps costing him the election.

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Politics Northwest is the go-to blog for politics in our region. The blog explores national, state and local political news and issues. Reporters from Washington, D.C., to Seattle City Hall to the state capital in Olympia contribute. Editors are Richard Wagoner and Beth Kaiman.